Posted on March 14,2013 by Terrence Isert

Youth entrepreneurship has become paramount for the stability and economic advancement of many countries. The demographic shift in developing countries in particular has produced far more youth than older adults. An ILO report on global youth employment  estimated in 2012 that there were 1.8 billion youth in the world with more than 75 million ages 15-24 struggling to find work.  In many regions of the world, the future of a country’s economy lies in getting youth to think of entrepreneurship as an option. In the Arab world, Qatar apparently is leading the way. The country posted the highest rate of youth that expressed an interest in becoming an entrepreneur as compared to its neighbors in the region.  The Silatech Index report, Qatar’s Rising Entrepreneurial Spirit found that Qatari 33% of youth reported their intention to start a business in the next 12 months which continues an increasing trend since 2009. Compare this result to the median figure of 9% across the rest of the Arab world and it demonstrates a clear difference. The US by comparison in 2012 had a stable trend of 43% of youth between grades 4 through 12 (10 – 18 yrs.) who wanted to start a business according to a Gallup survey. Many factors obviously are necessary to encourage this spirit of entrepreneurship in any country. Still these figures are encouraging as youth’s enthusiasm for entrepreneurship is rising, giving hope for future economic prospects.